Christmas in Our Living Room {New Rug & Room Update!}

Hey friends! A little over three months ago we moved into this house here in Seattle. We are really happy to be here! Right as we were moving, I began writing and finished writing a new book (due out this spring!), prepared to launch my coffee table book (The Inspired Room) and as I mentioned in one of my last posts, since then I traveled back and forth the country three times! All fun stuff I really enjoyed, but it definitely didn’t leave me much time for thinking about, let alone working on, our house.

In the last week or two my schedule started to slow down a wee bit (yay) and I am finally feeling like I can begin focusing more on things like how to arrange furniture in my house, paint colors and considering things like window blinds and all the details that will make us feel really at home here.

Thanksgiving week we painted our hallway and entry (still need to paint the cabinets and trim, though) and then we moved on to paint our bedroom. I’ll have updates on those spaces in the coming weeks, but today I thought I would give you a little update on our living room! When you last saw this room, it was just exactly as it was when we moved in. We literally didn’t move a thing until now, ha! But this last week I finally took a good look at the space and decided to try something and rearrange the furniture, which led to me buying a new rug. :) The 8×11 size we ordered made a big impact for under $300. I got the rug here (which seems to be sold out, but it’s available now on Overstock!!

Nothing else has been updated or changed in this room, I just added the rug and changed the furniture arrangement (plus moved our “entertaining cabinet” to the entry and our gold dresser from the bedroom to the living room, and of course, added a wee bit of Christmas!).

Even though there are plenty of things that we can and plan to do with this space, I already love it so much more than I did! I love that the room is inviting, happy, light-filled and cozy. Now it’s a really welcoming space that draws you in to enjoy both the wide open view out the windows and cozy nights curled by the fire. I know each new addition or change to this space will enhance it even more, but I’m also just really pleased with how it feels in here already, which is great because we have so many other projects in this house that need our attention.

Most importantly, I’m thrilled with this room now because I am so looking forward to time with my family over the holidays. Working on a house can cause so much disarray, it is a relief to have one room that feels pulled together enough to really relax and enjoy it.

While we keep our Christmas decor pretty simple (did you see our wreaths in the entry and dining room?), I also have a thing about wanting to keep the magical feel of Christmas alive. When you are moving or under stress in life or just plain ol’ busy, it’s natural to just want to simplify and cut back on extra things you feel obligated to do. Christmas decorating can be one of those things you just don’t feel like doing, at least I tend to start feeling that way!

But one thing that I’ve always felt was important is to really remember what Christmas feels like through the eyes of children. It’s magical. It’s beautiful with the sparkling lights. It is so special to them when we pull out those humble decorations that evoke such great memories from years past. I don’t want to forget that feeling, and I don’t want my son or girls to forget it either. Our boy is our youngest (even though he’s actually taller than everyone else in our family now) in the house and I’m telling ya, knowing we are just a few years away from an empty nest does something to my heart I cannot explain. I’m wanting to savor each season because they do fly by so quickly!

In spite of my effort over the years to simplify our life and home, I also want to keep the traditions, the sparkle and the child-like wonder of Christmas alive in whatever way I can each year. Whether its cutting down our own tree because we have so many memories of that tradition, or focusing on other special experiences we can have with our family, it feels good to be intentional on what matters to us.

When our kids were little, we always used to set up these little villages (we were given TONS of these years ago!) but when we moved to our last house, we stopped bringing them out because I felt like we didn’t really have a great place for them and I felt like they just took up so much room. This year I had a change of heart about those houses. I set up some of our favorites right here in the living room where we can all slow down to admire them and remember what it was like to be a kid. :)

Thank you for following along on our journey and move this year, I’m really excited to be able to share our progress with you each step of the way!

“…inviting, happy, light-filled and cozy. Now it’s a really welcoming space…” That’s exactly what you’ve achieved, Melissa, and I really wished I lived in Seattle so that I could come to visit.

Another thing about Christmas that’s important to me is that the season is all about birth and rebirth. And, for that reason, it can be the perfect time to move into a new house (however stressful that event is otherwise). I closed on my forever house on Dec 11 and moved in on Dec 19, and luckily had the help of a good friend from Portland, OR come down and spend the first night with me and my 3 furball kids and help me turn my empty house with 30-year-old vertical blinds that didn’t work on some windows and nothing on others and the little bit of furniture I brought with me into a warm and welcoming home by Christmas day. In addition to her wonderful presence, my other Christmas gifts included her handywoman skills and strength to take down those vertical blinds and install rods and JC Penney’s brilliance to have the needed extended rods and an enormous drapery sale and the perfect drapery on clearance at $12/panel. Tomorrow will mark the beginning of year 4 in my little house and how perfect and wonderful to have your post today to bring back all those memories. You’re going to have a wonderful Christmas and a beautiful new year – I know.

Everything looks wonderful. It’s a very pretty room. I am stricken by something you said here about Christmas through the eyes of a child. It means that I will be making a couple more changes. Thank you!

So simple, yet inviting – love it! I need to grab a tree from outside and paint it white – add some lights… BAM! Love that unique and cost effective way to add some height and brightness. You always have great ideas…..

Thank you, Susan! :) Sounds like a great idea, I actually did that last year. I grabbed a bunch of branches while I was on a walk, stuck them in a big pot and added ornaments! LOVED it. Left those branches behind when I moved though :(. Have a great day!

Melissa,
Merry Christmas to you & your family! Your home is beginning to look lovely with all of your added touches. My son has quite the Nutcracker collection that have to join us every Christmas, they really mean a lot to him. They also help add to the child like wonder that you described. Thank-you for sharing your time and your home with us…..

I agree with you about Christmas decorating. I have a daughter getting married in 19 days, and had a son marry in early September (we threw that wedding too). It would have been easy to say “I’m done.” But I didn’t and am so thankful for all of us to have Christmas in our home!

Melissa,
I love what you’be done with your living room. Would you mind sharing your thought process behind how you chose the rug? I myself struggle with knowing how to decorate with anything more exciting than a very neutral rug. If it had been me, I’m sure I would have thought that a blue rug would not have worked with the existing furniture but it TOTALLY does. How do you do it??

Melissa,
Your living room is very warm and inviting. I love that you accomplished this by using simple things like books, candles, pillows, throws and baskets. This makes it doable for everyone. We can all have warm and welcoming homes with the use of simple items. Thank you for the wonderful example you set for all of us. God bless you and your family throughout Christmas and the new year.

Funny how one of your readers went to JCP for their sale too on drapes. Hit the bedrooms in both my houses. They add so much and now I smile when I see them. And area rugs are such a great way to add warmth. I even change mine for the season as much as I can. Storage is not much of a problem since they roll up and my hubby or friends are at the ready to roll up or roll down. MS rugs have been a hit too. Big party this weekend so we started early with all the trimming. You look ready to have a party too.

I love the way you set up your living room! It’s beautiful! The way you were able to pull other furnishings from other rooms and use them in your LR is so smart and shows that if you really love something, you will always have a place for it in your home. Love your new blue rug!! Really pulls the room together. I have always loved your British tan / copper colored leather love seat and that gorgeous teal velvet ottoman! Great job pulling it all together again in your new home. Looking forward to seeing your other rooms. May you and yours have a lovely blessed Christmas.

Beautiful Melissa! Your space feels so cozy and festive. Bringing out the metallic chest was a fabulous idea and I LOVE the candles in the fireplace. :) Enjoy your bit of down time, too! [[hugs]] And Merry Christmas!

Melissa, I can’t believe you moved in so recently! It takes me much longer to settle in. I’m on a break, at the moment, from a home project and wanted to stop in and tell you I think reading your blog this year, and your book, has indeed inspired me. I’ve decided to tackle our bedroom. It’s been decades! Yesterday I primed all the new window and door casings and crown moulding, front and back, ready to be installed tomorrow. Today I removed the wallpaper. I still love the wallpaper, but it has an ivory background and my husband wants to go for a brighter look. I also shopped for a new semi-flush-mount ceiling fixture. Thanks for the inspiration!

I do like a cozy seat next to a window, but Kathleen points out an interesting idea. I just love the possibilities in that room … so spacious and light and interesting with the asymmetry. One possibility is to echo the L-shape of the windows with a L-shaped furniture arrangement diagonally across from the view (that corner with the mirrored dresser on one wall and the console on the long wall). It would be fun to try; maybe it would seem cozy, but maybe it would seem like the furniture was hiding in that corner, out of view when you see the room from your hallway and your dining room. Thanks for letting us see your house! I love it!

Melissa, your home is looking so cozy and peaceful. The last few years I have copied many of your decorating ideas. I hope you don’t find the creepy! ;-) I would love to know where you found your mantel garland. Maybe it’s a DIY post you could share?! Either way, thank you for the inspiration and encouragement you bring your readers each day!

I’ve been reading your blog for several years now and have always loved your emphasis on using what you have and process–that decorating is enjoyable when you first take a look at what you have, how you live and the tone you want to set, and then take the time to realize a dream home. Watching you move from one home to another and seeing your same lovely things rearranged in a new space is a treat and a testimony to your theme of loving the home you have. Your living room is beautiful, cozy and magical. Thanks for sharing.

The room looks like a real room for a real family to enjoy together—and it is beautiful and comfortable. It is easy to imagine you all gathering together in this space on Christmas Eve. I add my thanks to those who have already commented. You take decorating beyond magazine photos and have shown us how to create a home.

Your room came together beautifully. I am just amazed how you can pull together things so quickly and so well. You definitely have wonderful skills in making a home. What a blessing to your family and to others! I also really enjoyed what you were saying about making Christmas special for your family. I feel like I am on the other end. I have five kids and my oldest is 7. The home I grew up in had zero traditions and so I am trying to create ones for our family. I have the same feelings as you as to wanting to make Christmas seems magical for my precious darlings. In any case, I think you definitely succeeded. Blessings to you and Merry Christmas!

We have some of those houses too. My mother divided up her large set and gave them to my siblings and me. the remind me of my childhood. I currently mix them into my bookcases, but I love how the trees you picked give them a modern flair. I pinned your picture so I can remember next year to get a few white ceramic trees to mix in with mine too. gives it the perfect update.

Melissa… Your home is turning into one cozy space. Love your new rug. When we lived in Henderson Nevada we had a window film put on for the sun. Totally natural and never had to worry about fading. We loved it. Totally see thru and great for rugs and furniture. Just a thought for ya… Love everything. Your sign is gorgeous too. So happy for you and your family. Enjoy your Xmas.